Just Testing the Waters

[agmeyer]

This question has probably been asked many times, but I have searched deep into the forums and found nothing. I am currently an alternative route math teacher finishing up my second year in Mississippi. I am in program called the Mississippi Teacher Corps, meaning I did the same thing as TFA, but I will graduate with a Master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction. My undergrad degree was in Political Science, so I am teaching outside of my undergrad field. Being a 26 year old, single math teacher with out any children, this seems like a nice way to explore a fun teaching option. Is there any advice anyone may have regarding this route? I am open to all regions provided housing is provided (I would like to use this as way to pay a large chunk of student loans). I am concerned about teaching abroad and coming back to the USA to find a traditional teaching job eventually.

[UnCloudy]

Deleted. Best wishes!

[agmeyer]

I currently teach 7th and 8th grade math. Not having a math degree is something many people have told me would be a problem. At the sime time, I was fortunate enough to test out of all math classes with AP credits and entrance tests in college. Looking back now, that didn't seem like a good idea. Getting certified in AP Calc would be something I would look into.

As for people my age, what is the quality of life like? Living paycheck to paycheck or cash to spend after bills are paid? Are schools hesitant to teachers with minimal experience such as myself, but also have a Masters degree?

[UnCloudy]

Deleted. Best wishes!

[MIS]

The main prerequisites are certification and experience. If you have both, you are employable. The question is, which schools would disqualify you because of your degree? The answer to that will vary. Many schools like to tout teacher credentials on their website. Odds are, you wouldn't be an attractive hire for one of those schools. However, you do have a number of things going for you. One, you can teach math, which puts you in high demand. Second, you have a masters in something meaningful in the field of education. Those two things will carry you a long way, and will be weighed more heavily by a number of employers who aren't preoccupied with degrees.

The biggest complication will be countries that require you to have a degree in the field you teach. That will be difficult to overcome.

[BellaLuna]

I just replied, but it looks like it didn't get posted. Basically, check out the M.S. in Mathematics education from WGU.edu. It's online, competency based, cheap, starts monthly. If you are very competent already or even just need a refresher, by next Thanksgiving you could already have your masters and a math degree for under $6,000.

[BellaLuna]

Oops. It's an MA, not MS. It's what I will pursue this summer after I'm certified. Here's the link.

http://www.wgu.edu/wgu/credit/program546b

[marieh]

BellaLuna - I also looked into that program, but they will not allow you to do it from overseas. If the OP wants to find a job for the 2015-2016 school year, it may not be feasible for this reason.

[agmeyer]

Are there examples of countries which require math degrees? I imagine countires such as Finland (best education system) would require such, but what about other regions? Only if you know off of the top of your head, I'm googling the same question right now.

[Micky]

Anyone who thinks they will do a MA at WGU in 1 year is in fairyland. I did both my BA and MA there and it took a full 4 years and 2 years. They will tell you straight up that's its very unlikely that one will complete it in a year. One would have to study full time and be working on various courses simultaneously as when you complete an assignment you submit it on taskstream which needs to be graded which takes time, and then returned for revisions and resubmitted again and wait again and so on. Plus you cannot have as many courses open as you might like at one time. That said, it is a good place to get an education and I would highly recommend it, but don't think it will be much quicker than at an on campus university. Also the other poster is correct, unless you are in the military you cannot be overseas. I did about a year of mine overseas but never told them and had a US address and no one was the wiser, but when it comes to your student teaching, there is no getting around it, you would need to be in the US.

[agmeyer]

I'm not too worried about a Masters degree, I'll graduate with one in May. How important are the confidential references in gaining an interview?

[UnCloudy]

Deleted. Best wishes!

[shadowjack]

agmeyer,

yes, you will graduate in a year and have a math certification. Yes, you will even have a masters. However, any decent school won't touch you because you have basically zip experience. Teaching higher levels is also an issue, because it is easy to find MS math teachers, but HS math teachers are relatively rarer in comparison. And if you are hired to teach HS math and you are bombing, you WILL be gone within 3 months if they can't switch assignments and reassign a different teacher to HS math (and if that was the case, why wasn't that person there in the first place?).

Here is what I would do. Finish your degrees. Teach in the US for at least one year, preferably two. Get HS experience teaching, so that you can claim experience teaching it and you aren't blindsided.

Then go overseas. If you were to land a job overseas now, odds are that it would be at a school you would not enjoy too much.
Others will tell you that they got a job just after finishing uni, at a great little school, but those are the exceptions rather than the rule. Most end up in places that are not too enjoyable.

Just my two cents.

shad

[agmeyer]

Shadowjack,

Does that scenario (finishing me degrees and teaching for two years) take into account that I already have two years of full-time certified teaching experience? I was a little confused. I am a certified teacher currently. So should I look into this after four years of teaching or are my two current years considered good experience? I understand most schools require a minimum of two years and prefer more.

[UnCloudy]

Deleted. Best wishes!